Author Archives: Emily

Highlights From The Hudson Valley

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Adam and I just spent an absolutely fantastic weekend in the Hudson Valley. We did a day and a half in Hudson followed by a day exploring Tivoli and Woodstock. We had a million coffees and desserts, explored cute downtowns, hiked a bit at the High Falls Conservation Area, and took a quick walk at the Tivoli Bay.

Food and drink highlights include…

Perfectly roasty iced lattes at Hudson Roastery. This was how we started both mornings in Hudson.

Inventive, extra-flakey pastries from Breadfolks in Hudson. This was a lemon meringue danish and a baklava croissant(?!!).

A freshly fried doughnut at Kitty’s Marketplace in Hudson.

We are obsessed with this seltzer, that I have been sadly unable to find back in the city.

Halo halo at Harana Market in Woodstock.

Concord grape sorbet and peanut butter swirl ice cream at Fortunes in Tivoli. This is quite possibly the best ice cream I have ever eaten.

Pupusas with queso and loroco at Casa Latina in Hudson.

Lunch outside at the food truck at Phoenicia Diner in Phoenicia. Sourdough toast with mashed avocado, sweet corn, heirloom tomato, poached egg, lime tofu, and farmers cheese // tuna salad sandwich with line-caught tuna, mayo, herbs, and wasabi tobiko.

A pimento cheese smothered hot dog at The Maker in Hudson.

Woodfired sourdough pizzas at The Mud Club in Woodstock. Bianca Rustica – mozzarella di bufala, vesuvian semi-dry red and yellow tomatoes, and evoo + hot honey // Mellanza de Pesto – tomatoes, roasted eggplant, mozzarella, aged gouda, and house-made pesto.

A terrific dinner at Lil’ Deb’s Oasis in Hudson. Maiden Voyage – rum, spicy vermouth, soursop, tajin salt rim.

Tuna crudo with mango-habanero water, plum, husk cherry, and kohlrabi // sweet plantains with cilantro yogurt.

Crispy potatoes with lime pickle aioli, curry leaf, and pickled chilis.

Bok choy and endive salad with caesar-poblano dressing, pistachios, and anchovy.

Plato tropical – rice, black beans, and garlicy greens.

Fermented lentil dosa with marinated shiitakes, radish, and herbs. I am a sucker for mint in savory dishes and this ended up being one of my favorite things I’ve ever eaten!

All in all, a wonderful weekend!

Caramel Apple

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Favorites from this week were caramel apple snacks and fizzy beverages. Highlights included…

Coffee shake! Iced coffee, cold brew powder, and vanilla ice cream.

Caramel apple Greek yogurt. For Trader Joe’s seasonal yogurts this was better than pumpkin and not as good as eggnog.

My parents sent me these caramel apple Cow Tails and they are hands-down the best Apple Month item.

Good pea flower, rosemary, and black tea kombucha and out-of-this-world-excellent peppermint watermelon sparkling water.

We paired these to make sparkling yuzu matchas.

Still obsessed with these maple almond butter pretzels.

I ordered a bunch of Thai take-out so we could have leftovers. The remains of this chicken pad see ew was a standout.

[Homemade] Soba noodles stir-fried with eggs, frozen stir-fry veggies, baked tofu, and spicy tahini sauce.

Chicken nuggets, roasted purple and orange cauliflower, and crispy roasted potatoes (loosely based on this method), with homemade maple mustard dipping sauce.

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Sour Apple

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Highlights from this week included – Trader Joe’s sourdough sliced bread, Apple Month stuff, vegan junk food, end of summer veggies…

Cinnamon apple chia oats. <– I also had a(n unphotographed) bar with chia seeds this week, I need to remember to eat more chia, it’s delicious!

Cinnamon apple Over Easy bar.

Zestar apple with a salted caramel Noosa yogurt.

Salted maple kettle corn and freeze-dried fuji apples. P.S. The Trader Joe’s freeze-dried fruits are superior to all others.

Not apple-themed but still amazing – these Snacklins vegan pork rinds. I scooped crab dip with them and it was my favorite snack of the week!

Bacon egg and cheese sandwich for brinner. Toasted sourdough with mayo, yellow mustard, honey-maple sliced turkey, sharp cheddar, turkey bacon, and a fried egg. Plus yellow peach and heirloom tomatoes. Plus on-theme chocolates.

This was supposed to be a roast beef sandwich but our stores were all out?! Sourdough with pastrami-style turkey (probably better than my original plan!), black garlic and horseradish mayo, and sharp cheddar. With roasted orange and purple cauliflower.

Vegan chicken nuggets and roasted zucchini and yellow squash dipped in Bitchin’ Sauce.

A take on callaloo with turkey bacon and crab.

Apples And Marshmallows

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Highlights from the weekend include – amazing coffees, gooey marshmallow desserts, and some of the best Vietnamese food we’ve ever eaten. Also we – went to a Farmers’ Market on the water in Garvies Point, drove up to the tip of the North Fork for a picnic at Orient Point, stopped at several farm stands, walked around an apple orchard, visited a few LI craft breweries, took strolls around Greenport and Greenpoint…

Freddo cappuccino from 99 Franklin.

Quad iced latte from Aldo’s. <– this was hands down the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had and my favorite thing I ate all weekend!

Rice Krispies Treat iced latte from Coffee Booths.

Frozen apple cider in an apple orchard.

A flight of IPAs (plus a pumpkin ale!) from North Fork Brewing. We also tried some great things at Uber Geek.

S’mores babka from Spilt Milk Bakes.

We took Korean fried rice with duck (from Ellen’s) on a picnic at Orient Point.

An Apple Month toasted cheese sandwich – sharp cheddar, smoked turkey, and tons of apple butter on sourdough. With cotton candy grapes and roasted broccoli.

Best dinner of the month at Falansai – a great Vietnamese spot with a koi pond in the back garden! Beef dumplings.

Eggplant with fermented tofu bbq sauce and crispy shallots. Plus a housemade salted plum drink and Vietnamese iced coffee.

Spicy green curry with seasonal veggies and silken tofu. Broken rice on the side.

Coconut chia pudding with plums, peanuts, and hibiscus ice.

It’s Apple Month

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If you follow the Emily calendar of themed foods then September is Apple Month! Here are some of the products I’ve been squirreling away in anticipation –

And some highlights from this week include…

A perfect coffee combo.

Apple kombucha.

Apple cinnamon overnight oatmeal with a coffee dark chocolate bar.

These apple items were both only ok.

But we adored these (off-theme) peanut butter brownie crisps.

Sautéed kale with green onion, serrano pepper, shredded chicken, peanuts, and a zippy garlic-ginger sauce.

Fancy tuna salad with pine nuts, sundried tomatoes, and capers + a Trader Joe’s frozen veggie blend with marinated eggplant, zucchini, and red peppers.

Chicken salad (a blend of shredded breast and thigh meat with mayo, honey dijon mustard, and horseradish) with grapes and spiced pecans + roasted green beans + sourdough toast with apple butter and cinnamon (and tiny star sprinkles!).

Hibiscus Shaved Ice

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Some highlights from the past week include…

The hipster version of a classic breakfast – citrus kombucha and peanut butter oatmeal.

Lemon lime sparkling matcha with a (new flavor!) lemon poppy seed perfect bar.

I almost never buy cereal but these reminded me of the raisin frosted mini wheats I loved as a kid and I couldn’t pass them up.

These crunchy yellow peas are smoky in a very pleasing way.

We had great empanadas at Love, Nelly. This one was sweet plantain with guava and cheese!

Plus hibiscus + almond shaved ice with sprinkles and condensed milk.

An amazing (giant) lemongrass chicken bahn mi from Nha Minh.

Dinner pasta 1 – whole-wheat penne with marinara sauce (from the pizza we made last weekend), chicken sausage, and roasted zucchini.

Dinner pasta 2 – a loose take on these spicy braised eggplant noodles, with whole-wheat bow ties.

Ube, Inari, Cheese

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Highlights from a very tasty weekend…

Fresh soursop juice!!

Lunch at Kabiesera. Rice with amazing adobo chicken. Ube iced latte. Ube pastry.

Giant inari (tofu skin stuffed with rice and meat) from Yubu. We got salmon, crab, and spicy tuna.

Chai tow kueh (fried radish cakes) from Queens Night Market.

Mochi dango with red bean and condensed milk.

An epic homemade cheese plate. Smoked goat cheese / red plum / bucheron / whole-wheat matzoh / roasted purple cauliflower / 2 year aged cheddar / espresso-infused dark chocolate / mixed nuts / dried apricots.

We made the best pizza. Trader Joes crust / marinara sauce that we jazzed up with sardines, urfa pepper, gojuchang, chili oil, and tons of garlic / sautéed oyster mushrooms / chicken and wild mushroom sausage / cheese. Plus roasted green beans.

Nuts for Baru Nuts

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How are we in the 2nd to last week of August??! Some highlights from this week included…

A blackberry and soursop smoothie (with banana, plain Greek yogurt, and brown sugar).

A banana and coffee smoothie (with cinnamon roll oat milk creamer, cinnamon, brown sugar, and cold brew powder).

Whole Foods snacks. The baru nuts are fantastic! They taste like a cross between peanuts and almonds. I brought some to work and got all of my coworkers hooked as well.

Quinn pretzels with Bitchin’ sauce. A coworker recommended this dip and she did not steer me wrong. We are also both obsessed with these delicious pretzels.

Kombuchas and or matchas.

A loose interpretation of this chicken and corn stir-fry recipe. Instead of rice we paired ours with sautéed shishito peppers and mushroom.

So much Thai take-out! We had pad see ew, cashew chicken, and amazing spicy ginger eggplant.

Very fancy salads – local lettuce, black garlic vinaigrette, pistachios, dried apricots, and goat cheese.

Spicy peanut chicken pizza (a Trader Joe’s crust with spicy peanut sauce, shredded chicken breast, quick-pickled carrots, and cheese) with smashed cucumber salad.

Bacon, Broccoli, ‘Bucha

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Highlights from this week include…

Coffee combo = Trager Brother’s with cinnamon swirl oat creamer (plus brown sugar).

Kombuchas. The Rowdy Mermaid was flavored with watermelon, soursop, hibiscus, and rose!

A cute and tasty double IPA.

We are hooked on these maple almond butter filled pretzels.

An excellent sandwich – sprouted wheat sourdough with jam, turkey bacon, pickled jalopenos, sharp cheddar, and honey-maple sliced turkey.

Trader Joe’s brie and tomato thin crust tart with baby carrots.

Amazing chicken nuggets with maple tahini broccoli salad.

P.S. It was Webster’s 10th buy-day anniversary this week so his highlights were steak and dog-friendly ice cream! No photos because he was scarfing too quickly but he’s the cutest!

Pesto Bow Ties

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Long time no blog! I’ve actually been home since last Thursday (and back at work since last Friday and through the weekend!). Adam and I had an absolutely wonderful little trip to the Hudson Valley. We want to go back ASAP! Some of our favorite things included exploring the downtown in Hudson, pastries from Breadfolks, Fortunes ice cream at Kitty’s, dinner at Lil’ Deb’s Oasis, and the Round House hotel in Beacon.

Highlights from this past week included… lots of snacks and pesto-smothered dinners.

Chameleon canned cold brew. (7.5/10)

Matcha + roasted seaweed.

These Trader Joe’s plant-based pork rinds are great. Crispy and just a bit spicy.

Fruity sour double IPAs brewed with lactose from Proclamation.

Pesto pasta salad! Homemade (extra-garlic) pesto / whole-wheat bow tie pasta / roasted extra-firm tofu / roasted zucchini / baby tomatoes / smoked mozzarella.

Toasted sandwiches with smoked turkey, sharp cheddar, and pesto on TJ’s sprouted sourdough bread. With roasted romanesco and cheesy waffle fries.